Silhouette
by Aria6
Summary: Axel is a member of an exotic race known as Silhouettes. Roxas is a keyblade wielder, but doesn't know it yet. What will become of them? Much sex, please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Roxas hesitated a brief moment as he looked at the gate to Maribelle gardens.

To anyone else, it would have been imperceptible. To Roxas, his hesitation was everything. He didn't belong here and he knew it. He was as completely out of place as a clam thrown up on the beach. But it was his job not to show it and he walked through the gates confidently.

Theoretically, Maribelle gardens were open to everyone in the city. In actuality, the stern faced guards at the gate kept the riff raff out, so the merchants and lesser nobility didn't have to have their gardens sullied by the lower classes. Which was quite unfair to the working class Roxas had been born in, but that was life. His current class would be most emphatically not welcome, but he wasn't dressed in his usual clothing. He was dressed in a nice silk shirt and slacks for his meeting in the gardens. Roxas was vague on the details, just that the man he was meeting couldn't afford to be seen entering the establishment or having a call boy sent to his home. They would casually meet in the garden and go off to a hotel room for the rest of the tryst.

As little as he liked it, such meetings were his job. This one was just a bit more cloak and dagger than the rest. He'd meet the man, get it over with and then he'd –

Roxas thoughts slithered to a halt as he heard something… beautiful. Someone was playing an instrument, something he'd never heard before, and it was filling the air with sad, haunting music. Roxas hesitated, glancing around, but he couldn't see anyone else there. It was early in the day, his customer probably hadn't arrived yet. He could take the time to see what this was and he desperately wanted to hear more.

Roxas stopped, stunned, as he saw the man sitting on a bench and playing the pan pipes. It was a beautiful instrument, made of fine dark wood and gently curved, and the man playing it was handsomer than anyone Roxas could recall seeing. He had beautiful red hair, gorgeous green eyes and a body that made the blonde lick his lips. Then his eyes widened as noticed the moving 'tattoos' on the man's skin. They were black, intricate patterns that swirled and knotted as though they were alive. Which was in fact the case.

Roxas had only heard about Silhouettes, but he knew the history behind them. Generations ago, strange creatures of darkness had broken into the world. They'd threatened to destroy humanity and the great wizards of the time had done several things to prevent it. They had created weapons of light, the Keyblades, to defend the world… and had created the Silhouettes in case those blades failed. They hadn't, but that didn't mean the Silhouettes had just vanished. They had survived and prospered, using their abilities with ruthless intelligence.

Now, the time of technology had arrived and while magic was still potent, it wasn't the only force in the world. But Silhouettes were still here and mostly rich, a force to be reckoned with at all times. Roxas took a deep breath, blinking, and reflected that he should just leave. He had a job to do, and a Silhouette certainly wasn't it. Marluxia would have mentioned something like that.

But despite how logical leaving would have been, he found himself walking up to the Silhouette. The man lifted his head, surprised, and Roxas swallowed as he met those green eyes. For a moment the man's lips tightened and Roxas thought he was going to be asked to leave. But then they twisted into a rueful smile, and the man moved over a bit on the bench.

"You can sit here if you want." He said politely and Roxas hesitated before taking a seat beside him.

"Your music is beautiful." He offered and the man just shook his head. "Uh… I'm Roxas."

"Axel." Axel smiled, this time more genuinely before he offered Roxas a hand. Roxas vaguely noted he was wearing a single ring, a very strange patterned ring in gold and silver. It looked like the gold was an upper layer and it had somehow been etched to reveal the silver beneath. "So, Roxas, what are you doing in a place like this? You seem too young and handsome to be lounging around the gardens."

"I could say the same of you." Roxas pointed out. "But I'm here to meet someone."

"Really." Axel toyed with his pipes a moment, before firmly setting them aside. "Odd. I'm here to avoid someone." Roxas blinked and looked at him curiously, silently inviting the Silhouette to expand on that. "You wouldn't… no, actually, a human probably would understand. You people have arranged marriages don't you?" Roxas gave Axel a dirty look before realizing the question was serious. How old was the Silhouette? Rumors said they lived forever but he hadn't believed it until this moment.

"Well, sort of. It depends on the family." Roxas frowned. "And the culture. Mostly not. Why, do you have to get married?" That was a disappointment, although plenty of married men came to the establishment. So maybe… Roxas squelched the thought firmly. Men this handsome didn't come to the establishment, they worked at it. Axel shook his head with a smile.

"Oh no. Silhouettes don't marry the way you humans do." Axel's tone turned sour. "However, I've been informed by the Patriarch of my clan that I WILL sire a child on a woman. Which I could live with, I suppose, if she weren't so… unpleasant in bed." There was a bite to his voice and Roxas frowned.

"What, is she ugly?" If so he wasn't really that sympathetic. He dealt with ugly old guys every day. But Axel shook his head.

"Oh no. She's pretty. She just likes to cut things. The last man she took to bed almost didn't survive." Roxas winced at that and Axel reached into his pant pocket, pulling out some gum. "Want a stick?"

"Sure." Axel clearly needed something to do to relieve his tension and gum sounded nice. Roxas smiled at the familiar taste of Juicy Fruit. "So there's no way to refuse?" Axel shook his head, blowing a bubble with the ease of long practice.

"Not if I want to keep my balls, and I do mean that literally." Axel stared away bleakly before glancing at Roxas. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to load you with my problems." Although it was nice to speak to someone who wouldn't condemn him out of hand for not being willing to sire Larxene's child. Roxas hesitated, then laid a hand on the redhead's arm, ignoring the way the black marks moved under his hand. They felt warm and almost good anyway.

"I have to go. But if – if you want to see me, you can find me at the Pink Hibiscus." The was the horrible name Marluxia had given the establishment. Axel's eyebrows shot up and then he grinned.

"Roxas, I don't have to _pay _for sex usually." Roxas blushed. He was sure that was true. But then a warm hand caught his chin and he felt his mouth go dry as he met Axel's warm green eyes. "But for you… maybe I will." Something about this human child was just adorable. Roxas winced and pulled away as his cell phone went off. That had to be the man he was meeting, wondering where he was.

"I hope so." Roxas beat a hasty retreat, pulling out his cell as Axel watched him go with a thoughtful look on his face.

It had been a long time since he'd seen someone he really wanted. Maybe he would have to look into this.

* * *

Roxas sighed, leaning against the balcony and watching the cars go by outside.

It had been a week, and he was resigned to not seeing Axel again. The handsome stranger had just been a passing ship in the night, it seemed. It was a shame really. He'd always wanted to have a lover like that, young, hot and interesting. Although he didn't really know Axel yet, he could be cruel or into some kind of fetish… but Roxas had a hard time believing that. Although, was Axel actually young? Some of his word choices had sounded a bit old fashioned. But maybe that was just the Silhouette culture. He didn't really know anything about them.

Wrinkling his nose at himself, Roxas shook his head and started getting changed. He was going to be in the lobby tonight, displaying himself until someone took a fancy to him. He didn't like it, but he didn't have any steady customers. Most of the whores working for Marluxia dreamed of attaining that elusive thing, a really steady customer who might eventually become a sugar daddy and take them out of this place but Roxas had given up on that years ago. He was trying to save enough to start some kind of business when he was too old to work here anymore, although he wasn't sure what kind. Maybe a beauty parlor. He'd have to learn about haircuts but he certainly knew all about makeup. Speaking of which… Roxas quickly and expertly applied his own makeup and was pleased with the result. It was nothing too obvious, just a bit of delicate blush and some careful eyeliner to bring out the bright blue of his eyes. A bit of flesh toned lipstick to make his lips look kissably moist. Looking at himself critically in the mirror, Roxas adjusted his shirt. It was a nice white dress shirt, left unbuttoned to display a bit of his chest and his necklace, a little silver cross set with a blue stone. One of his customers had given it to him, a long time ago.

Roxas arranged himself on a chair, giving anyone who came in a shy glance and sweet smile. He was still young enough to play the virgin convincingly, and a lot of Marluxia's customers would pay very well for that.

"Who do you think you'll get tonight?" Demyx asked, irrepressible as always, and Roxas sighed. The sitar player actually seemed to _like_ the job and Roxas just couldn't understand it. But then, Dem had plenty of regular customers.

"What does it matter?" Roxas murmured, distracted from the door. So he didn't see the man walk in, but he did see Demyx's eyes widen and his mouth drop open.

"Oh my gosh I want that one! Mine!" Demyx hissed to him and Roxas idly turned his head to see what had caught his attention… and stared.

"Axel." He breathed as the redheaded man looked around. He looked a bit tired and slightly in pain, but he was _here._ That was just amazing. Marluxia spotted Axel looking around, a bit lost and clearly new, and glided out to meet him.

"Hello sir." His eyebrows arched as he caught the dark marks on Axel's skin. Axel was wearing a long sleeved shirt, but the edges were still visible as well as the marks on his face. "We rarely have Silhouettes here. I trust you won't cause any damage?" Roxas frowned, wondering what Marluxia meant. But then, Silhouettes did have an unsavory reputation in some ways. Axel grinned tiredly.

"No damage, unless you count possibly making one of your boys too sore to walk tomorrow." Axel paused to evaluate himself. "No, I don't think I can manage even that. Do you have any cute blonde's?" Roxas wanted to jump up and scream as Marluxia considered Axel for a moment, but that would get him in trouble. Then Axel's gaze landed on him and he couldn't hold back a full out grin. "Like, oh, that little cutie." Roxas heard Demyx muttering imprecations under his breath, but ignored him as Marluxia nodded, satisfied.

"Roxas. An excellent choice, sir. Would you like to sign up for one of our membership cards?" Axel was clearly bemused by the idea of a membership card at a whorehouse, but Roxas understood why Marluxia had done it. Things were very competitive in the red light district of Twilight Town. Axel probably didn't know that.

"Sure, why not?" Axel filled out the forms obligingly, although he laughed a little as he filled in a few of the questions. God only knew what a Silhouette would make of some of it. Roxas licked his lips, standing up and walking over as Axel took his new card, making it vanish in a puff of darkness.

"Right this way sir." Roxas said, trying hard to make his voice soft and seductive. Axel grinned, taking his hand and Roxas could feel the jealous looks on his back. Most of the others here had never even seen a Silhouette, much less slept with one. This was going to be a serious coup. Not that he really cared about that. What he cared about was being with Axel. As soon as they were out of sight of the others, Axel put an arm around his waist and leaned close, speaking into his ear.

"You don't have to try that hard. I like you already." Axel's voice was tinged with laughter and Roxas blushed, embarrassed. He hadn't meant to be so obvious. Was he really that transparent? Probably. But he'd never actually been interested in one of the customers. Axel glanced around, interested, as Roxas brought him into his room. It was a warm room that reflected very little of his personal taste. Instead, it had been designed with the comfort of the customers in mind. Although Roxas did rather like the magical, glass fish lamp that was on the desk. Little glass fish seemed to be swimming through the air around the globe and it attracted Axel's attention immediately. "How cute. I have one just like it in my rooms at the clan house. Where did you get it? I thought they stopped making those a while ago." Axel walked up to the lamp, gently touching a fish and smiling as he made it alter its course around the lamp. Roxas shrugged.

"I didn't. It came with the room. Axel, do you want to…?" Roxas slid his arms around the redhead then suddenly pulled back with a blink as Axel winced. "Axel?"

"Just a touch sore Roxas." Axel sighed and began stripping away his shirt. "I prefer the show part of show and tell, so…" He turned around and Roxas gasped, his eyes going wide as he looked at Axel. Instead of the perfect chest he'd been expecting, there was a mess of half-healed scars. Loops and whorls crossed Axel's skin in almost artistic patterns, but they were red, puffy and clearly very painful. Axel just met Roxas' gaze calmly as the blonde raised his eyes, feeling stunned. "I'm fine. It wasn't much fun at all, but it's over." Roxas was sure that wasn't quite the truth from the flash of pain, quickly hidden, in Axel's green eyes. But he decided not to question it as Axel picked up a card from the table. "A menu? This place has room service?"

"At grossly inflated prices, yes." Roxas said frankly then winced. He wasn't supposed to say things like that. But Axel just laughed and tossed the card onto the table.

"Well, maybe later. For now…" Roxas smiled as he felt himself folded carefully in warm arms, and reached up to grip Axel's shoulders. They were mostly unmarked, so that wouldn't hurt him. "Have you ever wondered about those stories about Silhouette's?" Axel's tone was teasing and Roxas felt his cheeks heat again. How could the redhead do this to him? He hadn't been a virgin in years but Axel could still embarrass him.

"Err, a little. Is any of it true?" A lot of it was pretty alarming and he could tell some of it was true already. Like the penchant some Silhouette's had for sadism. But Roxas didn't think Axel was like that. And some of the rest of the stories were really pretty intriguing. Roxas felt something warm around his shoulders and looked down, his eyes widening as he saw it was liquid darkness, a tendril flowing from Axel and sliding around him.

"Almost all of it. Let me show you." Roxas caught his breath in anticipation and a bit of fear as Axel began to disrobe him. His shirt and pants were soon on the floor, and Axel's pants followed a moment later, carelessly kicked away. Roxas drew Axel down with practiced ease, kissing him deeply… then moaning in pleasure as little tendrils of darkness slid over his skin. They felt so _good_, those feather light touches, and they ignited desires that had been buried for longer than Roxas could recall. He'd never really liked his job until today. Axel smiled and kissed him, holding himself up with one arm as the other hand rested on Roxas' chest. Roxas frowned, a bit puzzled, then gasped sharply as those light touches moved down to something more sensitive.

"A-Axel!" Roxas whimpered as the tendrils enfolded his erection, stroking him in a slow, sensuous glide that made him arch up, his hips bucking as he tried to thrust into the feeling. More tendrils slid between his legs, finding his balls and giving them slow, feather light touches. It was like he was being touched everywhere at once, and Roxas felt his orgasm building as a fire in his belly. But then the tendrils tightened around his base and he cried out as they stopped his release. "Axel! Stop…"

"Stop? But you like it." Roxas blinked, his vision feeling hazy as he felt Axel give him another tender, almost loving kiss.

"It's great but… please… inside me…" Roxas managed to choke out, trying to squirm and finding that Axel was holding him down very effectively. The redhead clearly wanted to drive him completely wild and it was working, oh, it was most definitely working. Axel laughed softly and Roxas arched as the tendrils slid into him, so tiny and painless but then slowly thickening, stretching him out. "Do you do e-everything with those things…?" Roxas managed to pant out, before the tendrils found his prostate and slowly, almost thoughtfully stroked it. Roxas eyes went wide and only the grip on his base kept him from coming right then. "Axel!"

"Not quite everything." The tendrils suddenly retracted with a small pop, and Roxas moaned at the empty feeling. But then Axel was there, swiftly inserting himself, so much bigger and warmer than the tendrils had been. But Roxas was vaguely aware that the tendrils were still there, they were part of Axel's skin, and with every thrust they helped him find that wonderful spot, making him gasp and cry out at the almost unbearable pleasure. Axel kept the one on his base but used his hand to stroke him instead, his palm warm and slightly calloused against Roxas' throbbing length. Roxas gasped and rolled his hips with every thrust, gripping Axel's shoulders tightly as he felt himself being driven so close to the edge, but held back from his release.

"Axel! H-Harder!" He begged and frustratingly, Axel slowed for a moment. "N-No… anh…" Then the thrusts speeded again but the tendril around his base was gone and Roxas cried out loudly as he finally released, a powerful orgasm that sent milky white fluid all over them both. Axel just laughed and released a moment later with an ecstatic cry. The two men stared into each others eyes for a moment, trying to catch their breath. Axel sighed then, a sound of pure contentment before he lowered his head to catch Roxas' lips.

"Mmm. That was good." He murmured and Roxas silently agreed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt something that good. He wasn't sure he'd ever had an experience close. "Let's get cleaned up, then check out that overpriced room service you mentioned. Hmm?" Roxas laughed tiredly, nuzzling Axel's throat fondly for a moment.

"Sure." If Axel was going to pay for a meal, he would definitely help eat it. And he was actually feeling hungry now, as well as tired. "Axel… will you be coming back here again?" Roxas was worried that this was going to be just a one time thing. He wasn't sure he could bear it, Axel was just too amazing. Axel smiled, ruffling his hair.

"I'm sure I'll be back… and for tonight, I think we'll sleep together. I can pay for your whole night." Roxas eyes widened at that. He wasn't the most expensive boy Marluxia had, but the rates per hour were pretty high. The paperwork Axel had filled out would have specified that. "As many nights as I want. The stories about Silhouettes being rich are not at all exaggerated, Roxy. Not in the slightest bit." Then Axel grinned, a quick flash of teeth. "Although any stories about us being useless drones are lies."

"I don't think there are any stories like that." The stories agreed that Silhouettes were always on the move, always acting and gaining new advantages. Axel blinked, then smiled faintly.

"Good. Now… clean up time." Pulling away, Axel stood, a bit wobbly. Roxas followed, feeling more drained than he had after four customers in a row.

Axel really was amazing.


	2. Always Hungry

Over the next few weeks, Axel came to visit him perhaps half of the week. To say the other boys were jealous would have been an understatement and Roxas had to start watching out for mean spirited pranks. Still, he wasn't expecting what happened next.

"Mff." Roxas groaned, shifting. He'd dealt with three customers the night before then had a bit of wine to help him sleep, and it had seemed to go straight to his head. Even though it felt like he'd slept forever, he was still tired and there was a nasty taste in his mouth. Shuffling to the bathroom, he got one of the nastiest surprises he'd had in his short life. "Wha – MARLUXIA!" Roxas darted out of the room and went straight for Marluxia's apartments, banging on the door until an unhappy pink haired man answered.

"What is – my word." Marluxia stared as Roxas burst into tears. "Come in here kitten." He pulled the blonde inside. "What on earth happened?"

"I don't know! When I woke up it was like this." Marluxia shook his head as he examined the damage. Roxas eyelashes had been cut off, his eyebrows shaved off and his hair mutilated. It looked like someone had had a go at his head with a weed wacker. Marluxia's lips drew tight as he thought about how this would affect Roxas' earnings.

"You would wear a wig and it's possible to pencil in eyebrows, but the eyelashes… hmph. We can only try. But I'm going to have words with the other boys about this." Roxas blinked as he realized Marluxia was quietly furious. But then, this would have a huge effect on his earning potential. Customers picked them out by appearance, after all. Although…

"Axel will still want me." Roxas said with more certainty than he felt. Would Axel want him like this? He looked… ugh. Marluxia smiled distractedly.

"I hope so. Come here, let's fix what we can." Marluxia took him to the beauty studio and began giving him a real haircut, trimming away. By the end of it he almost had a crew cut, which didn't look the least bit sexy. "Now…" Marluxia got out the wigs and Roxas had to repress a sigh. He'd worn them before with customers who had interesting fetishes but he definitely wasn't fond of them. Wigs tended to give him a headache.

When Marluxia was done Roxas looked critically in the mirror and shook his head. Marluxia had redone his makeup in a completely different way, instead of highlighting his natural beauty it was struggling to distract the viewer from his lack of eyelashes. It was working, somewhat, but the effect was bizarre. Roxas wondered what kind of customers he would attract like this.

"That's the best I can do. I'm going to have words with the other boys about this." Marluxia shook his head, putting the makeup away. "Well, your man should be here soon. We'll see how he reacts." Roxas swallowed at that. Axel was booking him in advance now. How would he take this?

As it turned out, Roxas wanted to hit him.

"Axel, stop laughing at me!" Roxas hid his face in shame then gasped as Axel suddenly hugged him, tugging on his wig. "Hey!"

"Oh Roxy you look so… so retarded!" Roxas blushed, lifting his eyes and seeing that Axel was grinning widely. "What happened? Set yourself on fire? I did that once a long time ago, but there were more burns." Axel doubted that was it. Roxas would look a lot worse if he'd managed that. The blonde sighed, reaching up to straighten his wig.

"Someone cut my hair off while I was asleep." He said plainly, then glowered. "And stop grinning at me like that!" While it was nice that Axel wasn't disgusted by his appearance, Roxas wasn't sure this was a whole lot better. Axel laughed and glanced over to where Marluxia was watching, smiling faintly. The other boys in the lobby were mostly looking disgusted at the display.

"Hey Marluxia! Mind if I do that thing we discussed?" Marluxia's smile widened and he shook his head. "Great!" Roxas blinked, confused, as Axel took his hand and pulled him out onto the street. "We're going out to supper Roxy. Room service is nice but the menu's a bit limited. I bet you've never been to Sia's." Roxas shook his head. He hadn't even heard of it. "It's the best restaurant in town. Then, if you want, we can head back to the Hibiscus or you could come over to my place." Axel paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder thoughtfully. "I think the Dusks are putting on some entertainment, actually. Could be interesting to watch, if a bit messy." Roxas frowned, wondering what that meant and what a Dusk was. It sounded like it had to be something related to Silhouettes.

"Sure, I'd love to." Messy didn't sound good but Roxas was curious about Axel's clan house. Although… "Wait, I'd have to see your family like this?" That made Axel laugh again and Roxas smacked him on the shoulder, hard. "Stop that!"

"My family mostly isn't in tonight. And they wouldn't much care anyway. Besides, I want you to meet my brother." That perked Roxas up. Axel had family, actual living family?

"I'd love to meet him. I'm an orphan." Axel paused as he was hailing a taxi. He didn't really know much about Roxas. They had talked, but mostly about politics, books, movies… whatever was happening in the city.

"Really? So am I, actually. My parents died a long time ago." Axel offered, then frowned, a faint pain crossing his face. "They were devoured by Heartless."

"But Heartless haven't been seen in generations!" Roxas protested, then hesitated as he thought about that. "…How old are you?"

"Old enough." Was Axel's only reply as he finally caught a cab. "Tell me a bit about your family. Have you always lived in Twilight Town?" He was curious about Roxas now. "Sia's, please." The cab zipped easily through traffic with a fine disregard for the speed limit. Axel completely ignored the driving as he spoke to the blonde beside and Roxas gulped, trying to follow suit. It was difficult. He usually took public transit and was rarely exposed to rides like this.

"Uh, well. I hardly knew them, really. I think I had a twin brother, but we were separated when the orphanage couldn't adopt us out together." Roxas vaguely remembered crying about that and clinging to his brother, Sora, but it hadn't helped. They'd had to go. "I was just a kid. The family that adopted me was okay, I guess. They mostly wanted a cleaner… I got to do what I wanted as long as my chores were done. But then they vanished when I was only fifteen, so I dropped out of school and went to work for Marluxia." A faint frown crossed Axel's face.

"Vanished? Did you report it?" Roxas hesitated, uncomfortable, then shook his head.

"No, I… didn't want to bring attention to myself. I don't think they were into anything legitimate." He actually had some good ideas about what they had been doing, but he wasn't about to admit it.

"Hmmm. Possibly not, but we always try to investigate disappearances. It's the first sign of Heartless at work." Roxas gave Axel a look, wondering if he was serious. But the redhead seemed serious.

"Are you telling me those things still exist? Now?" Roxas had a hard time believing that. He'd been told in school that they'd been eradicated by the keyblades and the Silhouettes. Axel looked slightly surprised.

"Of course. They're always trying to come back. It's what they do." Axel leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head and smiling. Roxas noted with a bit of unease that his tattoos were swirling. "They're always hungry, and so are we… but we feed on the Heartless for what we need. And they're always around. That's why Silhouettes and keyblades still exist."

"The keyblades still exist?" Roxas had never heard of that either. Axel's smile turned a bit sad.

"Yes. Most of the keyblade wielders work for us now." Axel shrugged. "We pay them well, and hunting Heartless doesn't actually earn any money otherwise." Roxas nodded slowly. He could see that. Being a keyblader was a bit like being a vigilante, really. If you weren't independently wealthy you needed a patron, or you'd find yourself basically working two jobs, or more.

"So what do you earn money doing?" Roxas asked. He'd been wondering about that for a while. Axel grinned wickedly.

"Anything we can! One of my friends owns your place. I own a lot of places and one of them is Sia's. Oh, you're going to like this." Roxas blinked, wondering what he was getting into.

As it turned out, a lot. Sia's quickly had him in awe. It was the most expensive restaurant he'd ever seen, with genuine oils on the wall from painters he could recognize, and he wasn't into art. The décor was incredibly beautiful, with glorious crystal chandeliers and muted, pleasant colors. The maitre de immediately recognized them and bowed slightly.

"Axel! It is a pleasure to see you again. Your table is ready." They were ushered past several people waiting, to their disgruntlement, and shown to a comfortable table in a far corner of the room. It was secluded by a little screen, like only a few other tables in the room. It was clearly meant to be a private little nook. Roxas glanced around, a little intimidated as he took a seat.

"I've never been in a place this good, Axel." He felt almost out of place. His clothes was good enough but his makeup and hair were, well, odd. Axel shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. I haven't got any manners anyway – ah!" Roxas blinked as several starters were delivered to their table. The waiter deposited them with a flourish, and while Roxas only got a very small trio of tuna sashimi, seared sea scallops and caviar, Axel had an additional cold plate of pickles, meat and cheese as well as a basket of bread. "Thank you so much Andre. Tell Donna I appreciate it."

"It is nothing, sir. Can I fetch you anything to drink?" Axel glanced at the wine menu and nodded.

"A bottle of the Queen Charles 86, please." That was a high priced but very good bottle of wine. He waited until the waiter was out of earshot to explain something to Roxas. "This might seem a little odd, but this place is used to Silhouettes. We're never full and we have a tremendous appetite. So don't worry about anything I order, I'll finish it." Axel felt the warning was necessary. He'd had normal dinner guests be appalled and uncomfortable at his orders before. Roxas smiled, sampling his starter. An amuse bouche, really, it was all excellent. He'd never had caviar before but quickly found that he liked it.

"You're paying, you can order anything you want." Axel grinned and Roxas almost regretted saying that. "But try not to break the table."

"Oh, that won't happen, the tables are very sturdy." Roxas couldn't help but laugh at that. That was certainly true.

Axel did his best to strain the table, though. Roxas stared as dish after dish vanished, up to and including a whole roast duck. He couldn't imagine where Axel put it all. There should have been a simple capacity issue, how big could anyone's stomach be? Roxas sampled everything until he was feeling slightly sick, but the food was spectacular so he couldn't regret it.

"How can you eat so much, even if you don't feel full?" He finally had to ask as Axel demolished his dessert and took the rest of his. Roxas had only managed to eat a few bites of the trio of chocolate. Axel smiled as he polished off a tart.

"I don't feel full because I don't get full, Roxy. My body is converting all of this to pure darkness fast and the conversion rate sucks. That's why we hunt Heartless. Unlike the keybladers, we eat their darkness. That's the only time we really feel full, after a meal of Heartless." Axel sighed. "But we hardly ever get that really. Keybladers can't bring 'em in 'alive' and it's more important to just eliminate them." Axel shrugged and ate the rest of the dessert. "At least we don't have to worry about getting fat and you get used to the discomfort after a while." Roxas blinked as he realized what Axel meant. Was the redhead feeling hunger pangs all the time?

"That almost makes me glad I'm not a Silhouette." He didn't like the thought of being hungry all the time. And there were surely other downsides, although being rich and almost immortal probably made it worth it.

They finally left the restaurant and to his shame, Roxas found himself falling asleep in the cab. He was just to full of wine and good food. But Axel didn't seem to mind, cuddling him close as the cab took them to the clan house. Axel poked him awake as they arrived, smiling, and Roxas yawned before sliding out of the car and staring up at the black building in front of him.

"Where are we?" Suddenly uneasy he glanced around. The clan house was in a heavily wooded part of the suburbs and surrounded by immense grounds. "I've never heard of this place." It was a huge mansion built of dark stone… no, actually, it was more of castle. And smack dab in the suburbs. Axel laughed, taking his hand.

"There are wards on it. No one even notices it and no one comes onto the grounds unless their with a keyblader or Silhouette. They just don't want to. It's pretty subtle, really." Axel confidently led Roxas up to the door and knocked firmly. It was promptly answered by a young man with jet black hair and odd, pure white eyes. He didn't seem to be blind though and there was a faint look of disdain on his face as he surveyed Roxas.

"Axel. The lady Larxene has been asking after you. Should I tell her you've arrived?" He asked in an indifferent tone and Roxas felt Axel tense beside him.

"Not if you value your life." He snapped. "Tell her I'll… no, nevermind, I'll tell her myself." Axel muttered something to himself as he led Roxas into the castle. "Let's get to my wing. I do not want Larxene to catch me."

"Is she the one…?" Axel nodded grimly at Roxas question and the blonde winced. "Then let's go." He didn't want to meet a woman who would leave marks like that on her lover.

Roxas glanced around curiously as Axel led him into his wing of the castle. Each section of the castle seemed to imprinted with the personality of the Silhouette who lived there. Axel's part had artistic statues of young men and women, holding lamps that lit their way as they walked past. More servants with jet black hair and white eyes bowed to him as he passed, and he nodded to them vaguely. Roxas thought these must be the Dusks he had mentioned. They seemed… not stupid, but not very bright, from what little he could see. When they got into Axel's quarters, he looked around curiously. Axel had furnishings of warm wood and Roxas smiled as he spotted a perfect match for his fish lamp, but done in orange and gold glass.

"The servants here are Dusks." Axel commented as he pulled out a decanter of wine, pouring them each a drink. "Have you ever heard of them?" Roxas shook his head as he cautiously sampled his wine. He'd already drunk quite a bit and didn't want to pass out. "There's too much here for me to explain in one night, but Dusks are pretty unusual. Their humans who wanted to become Silhouettes but failed to make the full crossover. They have a group intelligence and actually get dumber the more of them are part of a group. That's why we split them into 'packs' that belong to each Silhouette. If they all belonged to one person they'd be dumber than a box of rocks."

"Oh." Roxas was trying to think of a question when the door suddenly slammed open and his thoughts were derailed by a little boy with flaming red hair running into the room and jumping onto Axel, almost making him drop his wine.

"Axel! Xion is beating me again, make her stop!" The boy wailed, his volume earth shattering. Roxas winced, hoping the glasses wouldn't break as Axel glanced up at the door. A slender girl with black hair stormed in, clearly angry and holding a flexible stick.

"Why are you beating my older brother, Xion?" He asked her conversationally. Roxas swallowed as he realized she had to be seriously beating him, with a rod like that. Wait, older brother? That didn't make much sense, the boy was just a child!

"He ate my candy! All of it! Every last bit! Even the candy popcorn!" Xion was clearly beside herself with rage and Axel sighed as he looked down at the child gripping him. The boy was trying to look as pathetic as possible and doing a rather good job of it.

"Sorry Reno, it's a righteous beating. You know you're not supposed to eat anyone else's candy." Axel didn't sound very sympathetic and Reno whined.

"But I'm hungry!" He did sound very hungry too. But Axel just shook his head.

"Of course you're hungry. We're always hungry, it's what we are. Did Lexaeus say you need more food? No? Then you don't. You can't raid Xion's candy stash." Axel ruffled Reno's hair for a moment then lifted his shirt and Roxas winced at the red marks on the boys' back. "I think that's enough though, Xion. If you catch him at it again break a finger or two." Xion brightened at that.

"Really? I can?" She grinned at Reno who looked scared. "If you come near my stash again you're going to get it brat!" Satisfied, she left the room humming. Roxas stared at Axel, aghast.

"You'd let her break your brother's fingers?" Reno was sniffling and seemed to think Axel was serious. Axel smiled sadly, lifting his brother up onto his lap.

"It's how we learn at this stage. Meet Reno. He's my older brother by about three years." Roxas stared at the child in Axel's arms. "You've never heard that we Silhouettes get reborn when we die? It's how we stay immortal. The cycle of death and rebirth renews us. Only having our hearts eaten or losing all our darkness can stop it. Reno had an unfortunate accident a while back, so now we're managing his baby butt again." Reno scowled and squirmed, giving Axel a shove until he put him down.

"You're no prize either!" Reno snapped and for a brief moment Roxas could hear the adult intonation in his voice. Then he reverted back to a child. "I really want some food Axel. Don't you have anything?" He wheedled his brother and Axel laughed.

"Oh, okay. I have cookies." Axel went to a jar on his desk and pulled out a huge chocolate chip cookie. "Don't think this means you can raid my desk. I really will break your fingers brat." Reno pouted but took the cookie and left the room quickly. "That's why Larx needs to get pregnant, actually. Her sister had an accident and can't be reborn until one of our females gets pregnant, and Larxene is hoping to have her as a daughter this go around." Axel's tone turned sour. "It's a nice thought but I wish she'd picked someone else to be the father. And speaking of such things…" Roxas smiled as Axel walked over, sitting down beside him on the couch. "Would you like a bit of loving, Roxas?" Roxas laughed, feeling more than a bit tipsy and carefully set his glass down on the table. Or rather, tried to. He didn't notice when he missed and the glass went rolling across the carpet.

"Please." Being with Axel was like a dream, and he'd get to see more of the castle tomorrow… unless Axel wanted him to go home right away. But Roxas doubted that would happen.

They had too much fun together.


	3. Keyblades R Us

Roxas woke up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach and groaned softly. It was all his fault for eating too much, but who could resist when Axel ordered so much? Roxas made a vow to watch himself around the redhead, but was aware it would be hard to follow if he was taken to Sia's again. The food had just been spectacular.

But now it was exacting its revenge, and Roxas slid out of Axel's bed. The redhead sighed but didn't waken and Roxas slowly pulled on his clothes before deciding to go for a walk. He was sure the clan house was safe enough, Axel had told one of the Dusk's to spread his scent around, whatever that meant. And besides, he was curious.

Roxas slowly walked through the castle and could tell by the change in decoration when he'd left Axel's section. This part of the castle was full of icicles and the lamps looked like they had been made out of gears and clockwork. Roxas liked the steampunk, mad scientist feel it gave the place and was glad there were no Dusks around. He couldn't help but find them a bit creepy.

"Help!" Roxas paused at the muffled cry. For a moment he considered just passing by but curiosity prevailed and he cautiously opened a small wooden door then stared at what was behind it. The door led to a tremendous lab full of mysterious machines and tubing that strongly reminded Roxas of an old Frankenstein movie. But it all had enough wear and tear on it that he was sure it was for serious business. And there was a man strapped to a… dissection table? "Oh thank god! Young man, let me out of here!"

"Uh… who are you?" Roxas couldn't help but be immediately suspicious. Just because it looked like this man was being held for torture and dissection didn't mean he was a good person. The man shook back long silvery hair as much as he could with a cuff around his throat holding him down. Roxas vaguely noticed that he was only wearing drawers and was quite good looking, in an overmuscled, weight lifter sort of way.

"I'm Kazookie! Surely you've heard of me. The gentleman hero? The savior of Aes! The leader of the Soosti Brigand! The Slayer of the Knothill monster!" Roxas stared. That last one DID ring a few bells.

"Wait. Are you that nutcase who got the Mayor's daughter dead drunk and used her as bait for the monster?" Kazookie coughed and managed a grin.

"She volunteered! And the gentleman hero needs a sidekick, see? So would you like to be my next one?" He asked innocently. Roxas snorted.

"I'll pass on being fed to the next monster, thanks." He didn't think that sounded like a good time. Kazookie immediately protested.

"She survived! But please, please you have to help me! They're going to kill me. No, they're going to torture me then kill me!" Roxas frowned, looking at Kazookie skeptically.

"Why?" He asked simply and the silver haired man wasn't at all hesitant about expanding. Roxas thought it would be hard to shut him up. He did seem to love the sound of his own voice.

"I'm a keyblade bearer and expendable, unlike their pets." Kazookie's scorn for the other keyblade wielders was plain. "They're going to dissect my heart and brain to see what makes me different from regular people. They're trying to isolate what makes someone a keyblade bearer, but I'll be a vegetable when they're done. Please help me!" Roxas hesitated but then glanced around the lab. That actually did sound plausible. The man's hands were in steel mitts that would prevent him from summoning a keyblade and whoever owned this place was clearly a mad scientist type.

"…Okay, I'll help you. How do I get that off you?" Roxas followed Kazookie's instructions, pressing a few buttons on a nearby console and soon the shackles were off. Kazookie didn't summon in a keyblade though and Roxas frowned for a moment. "Aren't you going to call in your keyblade?"

"Oh heavens no. All the pet keybladers could sense it if I did, and some of the Silhouettes would smell it. They're damnable… come on my new sidekick, it's time for a daring escape!" Roxas bit his lip but followed, wondering what he'd got himself into. He didn't want to escape with Kazookie but he couldn't let this lunatic just wander around, could he? "Say, which way is out?"

"I don't really know but I know where there's a balcony." Axel's rooms had a balcony and it was only a three story drop, with plenty of vines. Kazookie would surely be able to get down from there and then he'd be off with no one the wiser. Axel would probably understand and no one would know he was involved anyway. Right? Roxas winced, feeling his head starting to hurt. He wasn't sure of that at all. He took a deep breath and led Kazookie to Axel's room, cautiously opening the door. There was no one in the main apartment and Roxas was relieved. "Right over there –"

"Hm?" Roxas' heart skipped a beat as he heard Axel's sleepy murmur and the redhead stepped out of the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee. "Where were you? Exploring?"

"I, uh." Roxas swallowed then blinked, realizing Kazookie wasn't beside him anymore. Where had the man gone? But Axel favored red curtains and had a few tapestries on the wall so maybe the man had found a hiding place. "I wasn't feeling well so I took a walk."

"Ah, too much rich food last night?" Axel smiled and set down his coffee mug, stepping up to Roxas and leaning down to kiss –

"HAH!" Roxas yelped at the sound of shattering glass and caught Axel as the redhead's eyes abruptly crossed and he collapsed onto the smaller boy. "Take that villain!" Roxas stared in shock at the broken lamp Kazookie was holding, then at Axel. The redhead wasn't bleeding but that couldn't have been good.

"You moron! What did you do that for? And that was his favorite lamp!" It had been the one with the glass fish on it and for some reason that really angered Roxas. Maybe it was because he had the matching lamp to it in his own room, but he'd liked Axel having this one. "Axel, please, are you okay?" Roxas heaved the redhead onto the couch then looked up as hands gripped his shoulders. "What?!?"

"Lad, what are you doing? Leave the lackey! We need to get out of here!" Roxas found himself propelled towards the balcony and suddenly fought the older man off. He seemed mostly baffled as Roxas glared at him. "What?"

"What! That's my lover! How could you?" Roxas snapped and Kazookie looked surprised for a moment, then enlightened.

"OH! I see now! He's seduced you!" Roxas' thoughts stumbled and he blinked. If anything he thought it had been the other way around. "You poor child, don't you understand? Silhouettes are evil! Disgusting, vile creatures! The other keybladers have sold themselves to them but not me! Oh no! It is my holy MISSION to remove their taint from the world." Roxas stared at Kazookie's almost blissful expression and remembered his first thought in the lab, that maybe the silver haired man deserved dissection. The Silhouettes certainly might think so. "Come along lad and be my sidekick! We can have a tremendous adventure!"

"Of course we can!" Roxas responded enthusiastically, grabbing Kazookie's hands in his own. It was a performance that would have had any real audience rolling in stitches but Kazookie was far too egotistical to notice. "I'd LOVE to be your sidekick! We should get started right away! You go first, I'll follow."

"Right!" Kazookie leapt up onto the balcony railing… and Roxas neatly caught one of his ankles, sending him tumbling into the bushes below. "HEY! Traitor! FOUL! I cry a foul!"

"Keep yelling and you'll wake up the whole house. Beat it! And I wouldn't be your 'sidekick' if you paid me!" Roxas slammed the balcony doors harder than necessary and sighed. "I screwed up." But he was sure he couldn't have beaten Kazookie in a fair fight so getting rid of him was the best he could do. "Axel!" Roxas hurried to the red haired man, who was starting to groan.

"Oh… gods, what hit me?" Axel had a hand pressed to his forehead and there were a few tears of pain on his cheeks. Roxas winced.

"A lamp. I'm sorry Axel, I really screwed up. Let me get you some aspirin." Roxas quickly found some pills and brought them to Axel, who swallowed them dry before closing his eyes.

"Tell me how you screwed up." He finally said after a few minutes and Roxas winced but explained how he'd met the silver haired man and what had happened after. "Vexen had him? Not a surprise. You haven't screwed up that badly Roxas." Axel opened his eyes as Roxas frowned. "Really, you haven't. Kazookie's a moron but I doubt Vexen had permission for his little science experiment. No one will care that Buttkazoo is gone."

"Buttkazoo? Is that what you call him?" Roxas couldn't help but laugh and Axel grinned tiredly.

"All the time. He hated it when he worked here. Yes, he used to be one of our employees before the incident with the mayor's daughter. He can be dangerous thought, don't underestimate him. You can never tell when he'll have a moment of brilliance…" Axel's eyes closed for a moment then he blinked. "Wait, a lamp. Not my fish lamp?"

"I'm afraid so." Roxas really did feel bad about that and Axel groaned.

"Damn. Well, that's the way of things. I'll find something to replace it." Axel reached out to take Roxas' hand. "Want to stay?"

"Uh." Roxas swallowed. He desperately wanted to stay but what did Axel mean? "You mean, permanently?" He had a small apartment to himself but it was a month to month lease, he could move out of there easily. Axel smiled weakly.

"Yes, if you don't mind having a sugar daddy." Axel's tone was teasing and Roxas blushed. He was sure the redhead had heard some of the other boys speculating on whether or not Roxas was going to get taken out by his Silhouette lover. Marluxia wouldn't like it but had probably seen it coming a mile away. It was hardly the first time a boy had gone to live with a permanent lover.

"I'd love to." Roxas said firmly, then frowned. "But I would need some pay." He wasn't just going to count on Axel's generosity. He'd be old someday and would need to have enough to set up a business at something. Axel laughed softly and squeezed his hand.

"We can discuss that later, when I can think straight enough to bargain. For now, help me to my bed? I need to sleep this off." Axel felt sick and was sure he had a minor concussion but that wasn't really a huge problem for a Silhouette. He'd sleep a few hours and be good as new. Roxas helped him back to bed and gently tucked him in, making the Silhouette smile.

"Thanks Axel." Roxas was relieved that Axel was being so forgiving about this. He quietly watched as the redhead fell asleep, vaguely worried that Kazookie might come back. But nothing happened at all, and Roxas went to get some coffee and breakfast for himself. He'd need to call Marluxia and let him know that he wouldn't be coming to work in the future as well.

The clan house might be an unknown and slightly scary environment, but he'd be very glad to never have to service anyone but Axel again.

* * *

"Mmm." Roxas smiled as he watched Axel tear into the breakfast the Dusk's had brought for them. They handled all the cooking and cleaning and were very well acquainted with a Silhouette's appetite, so the table was covered in dishes. Everything from an omelette to sausages to jam tarts. Roxas had decided to stick with just a bowl of porridge. He was still feeling a little ill from last night. "Oh hey, check this out." Roxas blinked as Axel handed him a small scroll and he unfurled it.

"Is this a map?" He finally said after staring at it a moment, perplexed. Axel grinned.

"It's a magic map of the castle. See the red dot? That's you. Right now it's just showing this level. If you go down the stairs it'll show you that level. It's all labeled too." Roxas blinked as he realized that he was smack in the middle of the corner labeled "Axel." And right beside them was a wing labeled "Vexen." That had to be the mad scientist who had been intending to dissect Kazookie. Although looking at the remains of the lamp, Roxas didn't think it would have been much of a loss to the world if he had.

"Can you tell me about your family Axel? What's Vexen like?" Axel laughed as he ate a bit of muesli.

"Oh, well. They're not really my family Roxy, they're my clan. Reno's the only real family I have here." Axel considered, thinking about how to explain. "Basically we were all created at the same time by the same guy, Ansem the Wise. That's why we're a clan and Xemnas is the Patriarch. His word is law around here, but he's mostly busy with his own researches and only puts out a decree when something or someone is really bothering him. Like Larxene went to him when I refused to bed her." Axel's tone was sour, but then he shook his head. "Anyway, Vexen. He's sort of a cold fish, a real mad scientist who really loves his machines and experiments. He is fun as hell in a way though. Sometimes he comes up with the best gadgets and toys. There was that one time he created a magical robot thing, back before technology was really going strong. It was awesome but the women finally dismantled it after it pinched their buttocks one time too many." Axel sighed sadly as Roxas snickered. "I was sad to see it go. Now the others… there's Zexion, he's a real bookworm and completely into magic. He's not as big a hands on researcher as Vexen though, he prefers books and papers. They work well together since Vexen prefers to dive in rather than read the manual. You know about Larxene. There's Lexaeus, he manages the kids and a lot of the keyblader training. He's really good at it. We've also got Xaldin and Xigbar, but they're always on the move investigating disappearances and making sure it's not Heartless at work. They love the field work. Namine is our business guru. She's a real witch and looking in a crystal ball is a lot better for predicting the markets than those dudes on Wall Street." Axel paused his talking to down a lot more food. Roxas waited patiently for him to speak again. "Saix is Xemnas personal companion and aide. They're inseparable. Then there's Luxord. He's sort of a wild card, one hell of a gambler but he's lucky as sin. He owns a bunch of casinos I hear. You'd probably like him, he's fun to be around. There's three other women, Nataya, Reeta and Valinda. Val likes the field work and the other two are into the business side of things, they work closely with Namine. And that's about it for the actual Silhouettes here, unless you count Xion and Reno. But they're children at the moment." It would be years before Xion was adult again. Roxas nodded.

"I see. What about the keyblade wielders?" Roxas was really extremely curious about that. He knew almost nothing about the keyblades. Axel smiled a touch sadly.

"I actually don't know their names. It's hard to keep up… they seem to change so frequently." Roxas frowned at that. But then, hunting Heartless was probably dangerous. "It's not that they die a lot, but it's a job for the young. Most retire from it around thirty, so that's only ten years, maybe fifteen if they got the blade as a teenager. For me that's nothing. Lexaeus and the guys and girls on field work are the ones who have a lot to do with them and I'm not on field work at the moment, so I don't really keep track."

"I'd like to meet them. Maybe I can make some friends." It sounded like they would be about his age and he would like to have some friends. He hadn't really had many at Marluxia's place aside from Demyx. Axel frowned thoughtfully and shrugged.

"It's worth a shot. Lexaeus can train you a bit too." It would be something for Roxas to do, although the only way he'd get to fight Heartless was if a keyblade spoke for him or he became a Silhouette. They were both unlikely, although you never knew. Although if he tried the latter it was far more likely he'd just become a Dusk. Axel grimaced at that thought and went back to eating. He hated to think of the people he'd known over the years who had tried to become Silhouettes and ended up nothing but mindless minions. "Lex looks like a big bruiser but he's actually got a soft spot for kids. You'll like him." Axel was sure of that. Everyone seemed to like Lexaeus, even the coldest Silhouettes. There was just something solid about him. As Axel was eating, Roxas went to the phone to place a call to Marluxia.

"Marly? Um… I'm sorry to tell you so abruptly, but I've decided to stay with Axel." Roxas said apologetically and heard a sigh at the other end.

_Well, it's hardly a surprise kitten. Don't worry about it, at least you gave me a call. _Roxas couldn't help but grin at Marluxia's long suffering tone. A lot of boys just vanished without a word. _Have fun and don't let those Silhouettes intimidate you._

"I won't." Although that might take some doing. Roxas hung up, smiling as Axel stood.

"I have work I'm afraid, but you should be able to get around using the map. Lexaeus and the keybladers are on the second floor. Let me show you…" They walked down to the second floor together and when the map changed, Axel pointed out the way he needed to go. "If you have any problems just ask a Dusk. They'll all know you by now." Dusks would help anyone they knew unless they ended up barred from the castle, like Kazookie.

"See you later Axel." Roxas murmured, gripping Axel's hand for a moment and feeling a rush of desire as the redhead smiled. From the gleam in his eyes, Axel felt the same way.

"Later Roxy." Axel regretfully let go of his hand and went to go see to his work. He'd like to just spend the whole day with the blonde but he was currently helping in the business side of things and it was a big job, keeping everything running smoothly. He usually took weekends off from it but this was only Thursday.

Roxas cautiously made his way through the castle, looking around at the decorations. The area he was passing through was noted as belonging to Zexion and the style was very minimalist and modern, with impressionistic paintings on the walls. Then he reached Lexaeus' section and had to smile. The lamps here were all made to look like fruit clusters and the few pictures on the walls were landscapes, often with horses. It was rather nice. Roxas checked the map and went into the room Axel had pointed out as the training centre.

"…And Buttkazoo said, 'Hang on to your asses, assholders!'" There was a derisive laugh and Roxas paused, looking at the young men and women standing and talking.

There weren't many keyblade wielders in the room but Roxas had been told that using the blades was a rare gift and seemed to run in family lines. There was a slender young man with long silver hair who reminded him a little of Kazookie. One young girl who looked to be his younger sister, if Roxas was any judge. A solidly built young man with wavy black hair and a crooked smile. A girl with hair as red as Axel's and dark blue eyes, ignoring the others and practicing by herself with a keyblade that was studded with dazzling gems. And a boy with spiky, brunette hair. Roxas felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at the back of that boy's head and felt tears prickle at his eyes. He couldn't help but wonder where Sora was and how he was doing –

"Hey, look, a new guy!" The silver haired girl exclaimed and the brunette turned. Roxas felt like his heart would seize as he suddenly looked him in the face.

"Sora." He breathed, staring into blue eyes that were a perfect twin to his own. The other looked just as amazed.

"Roxas?" Sora suddenly ran forward and hugged his stunned twin tightly. "Oh my god ROXAS! It's you! They could never find you, where have you been?!?" Sora was crying as the others stared at the reunion happening in front of them. "Did someone find you? Are you going to be a keyblader too?"

"Sora, calm down!" Roxas felt breathless and dizzy with his own joy but Sora was going way too fast. "Look for me? Axel brought me here." Surely Axel hadn't known his brother was here, he'd have mentioned that! Sora looked a little puzzled too.

"Axel? He's not a searcher. Oh, it doesn't matter, you're here now! You can be a keyblader too and we can be together again! Have you been tested yet? Lexaeus will want to meet you!" Sora started to drag him off and Roxas planted his feet feeling almost exasperated. Sora had always been like this from what he could remember, dragging him off to do crazy things without a care in the world.

"Sora, CALM DOWN! I'm not here to be a keyblader." Roxas said firmly and Sora paused, looking puzzled again. The others didn't look puzzled at all and the silver haired man coughed lightly into his hand.

"Sora. He's a blonde and Axel brought him here. Remember what the Dusks told us last night?" He said delicately but Sora immediately ruined his attempt at tact, his mouth dropping open as he looked at Roxas in horror.

"You're Axel's toy?!?" Roxas winced at that but they hadn't really been together that long and the redhead was paying him to stay, so it was a fair term. "Roxas how could you?" Roxas stared at his brother and suddenly felt his cheeks heat and he yanked his arm away sharply.

"I don't know how you've been living, Sora, but my foster parents vanished when I was fifteen!" He snapped at the brunette who blushed and looked down. "I had to get by so I did. Do you have a problem with that?"

"It's just… you… you're gay? And with _Axel?_" Roxas wasn't sure which part of that Sora was more upset with and the silver haired man winced, running a hand through his hair. "Roxas, he's a Silhouette and he's _paying_ you? You're a – mrph!" The silver haired man had his hand firmly over Sora's mouth.

"Stop before you say something unforgivable." He said firmly and Roxas was grateful. He was sure he knew where Sora had been going. "I'm Riku, by the way. This is my sister Chappie, that lump is Eric –"

"Hi!" Eric grinned and waved as Riku continued.

"And the girl over there is Lucca." She stopped her practicing to nod before going back to it. She didn't seem to be paying attention to the unfolding drama at all. "You'll have to ignore Sora he's a bit of a – OW!" Riku yanked his hand back. "You bit me!" He winced, rubbing his hand as Sora glared.

"Don't do that to me!" He poked Riku in the chest before turning to look at Roxas again. "I'm sorry. I – I shouldn't have reacted like that. But are you going to get tested now that you're here?" Roxas hesitated then shrugged.

"I guess." He was fairly sure it wouldn't come to anything. "So should we wait for Lexaeus?" Sora grabbed his arm again and pulled him along and this time Roxas didn't resist.

"Nah! We don't need a Silhouette to decide who can use a Keyblade!" Riku looked like he wanted to disagree but Chappie and Eric clearly agreed with Sora so he shrugged and went along with it. "The blades are right here!" Roxas balked a little as Sora pulled him over to a wall with dozens of keys hanging on hooks. They were big, ornate keys but still they were… keys. Not Keyblades.

"Sora, what is this?" Roxas was skeptical but maybe this was how Keyblades looked before they bonded to someone. Sora grinned, letting him go and stepping back.

"They're keyblades! Touch them and see if one of them picks you!" Roxas gave him a look but his brother seemed serious. He hesitated a moment then slowly ran his fingers over the keys. One of them seemed to jump at his touch.

"Hm?" Roxas hesitated then drew the key off the peg, looking at the little key in his hand. Then to his shock the black key vanished and he was holding a heavy blade. "What?" Roxas stared at the jet black, shining key. It felt very dark, and Roxas could almost feel an echo of Axel's darkness in it. It felt good, comforting and warm. There was a gasp behind him and Roxas turned to look at Sora. Sora was looking uncertain but Riku was completely unperturbed as he look at the blade.

"Oblivion." They all jumped as a deep, rumbling voice spoke. "The blade of darkness, to symbolize the darkness you hold in your heart. Who are you?" Roxas turned and had to look up. A Silhouette was there, a bulky man with short, spiky auburn hair and slate grey eyes. He was wearing only a tank top and slacks, revealing the shifting darkness that ran along his skin.

"I'm Roxas. I'm Sora's brother and Axel brought me here." That made Lexaeus smile although Roxas had no idea why.

"Fascinating. Come, I will begin your training." Roxas' eyes widened as Lexaeus summoned his own weapon, a massive sword. "The rest of you get to work."

"Yes Lexaeus!" The other keybladers immediately went to the practice room and began joining Lucca in practice. Sora flashed him a quick grin before engaging Riku and Roxas braced himself as Lexaeus stood in front of him, taking a ready stance.

"You do not attack?" The Silhouette questioned, watching the stiff way Roxas was holding the blade. "You do not know weapons?"

"No." Roxas admitted, feeling a bit ashamed. "I never even played with wooden swords." He remembered Sora doing that all the time but it hadn't been his thing. Lexaeus just laughed.

"It is just as well. There is nothing to unlearn. Let me show you." Soon Roxas was deep in one of the most exhausting lessons of his life. He was sweating and sore by the time Lexaeus was done with him but the Silhouette seemed satisfied. "You have much talent. Xemnas will be pleased we finally found you. Now, go have a bath and go to lunch." The others were getting ready to depart but Sora was waiting for him impatiently. Roxas nodded.

"Thank you sir." He was sure Lexaeus deserved the title. Then he departed with Sora. "So what have you been doing?" He was sure Sora would tell him everything with little prompting and he was right.

"Oh Roxas it's been amazing! You wouldn't believe – " Roxas smiled, listening to the details of Sora's life as he wondered.

What was Axel going to make of this?

﻿


End file.
